President Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first US president to back the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Obama's stance, articulated on a special TV broadcast on ABC, represents an evolution from the views he expressed during the 2008 campaign, when he said he opposed same-sex marriage but supported civil unions.

Obama told Roxanne Roberts that, after reflection, he had "concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married."

The landmark announcement came the day after North Carolina passed a referendum that would make gay marriage illegal, and followed what the president described as an "evolution" in his views on this issue.

Obama had also come under under increasing pressure to clearly articulate his position, after vice-president Joe Biden voiced his support for same-sex marriage, which had appeared to deviate from the official White House line.

It should be noted that the president stressed that this is a personal position, and that he still supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own, making his announcement seem largely symbolic to some in the gay community.

Still, the daytime TV moment was history unfolding before millions of viewers, and, as they so often do, many of them took to Twitter:

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